Cliff Notes On The Open

Here's what I saw:

Tiger's rusty, he hadn't done any of the 'extra' preparation that a major requires and he's still grappling with his father's death. Unless he's gone through a complete personality change, he'll be back.

Phil went back to the old 'take the risk' Phil and it killed him on the last hole when he let it out of the bag. He thought he was ordained to win this one so he let it creep out gradually in the last round. What was he doing continuing to hit driver. Does anyone remember when Jack Nicklaus put his driver in the bag during the last round of an Open that he won and teed off with his 1 iron?

Ogilvy played extremely well for a young gun. He thought he lost it on the 16th. With the pressure off he played 17 and 18 relaxed. How would he have done in a playoff with Phil - unfortunately we'll never know.

Monty played great. It's wonderful to see him in the thick of things. At the 1998 Ryder Cup he was the best player on any team. Monty was on game plan until the fairway iron on 18. That's when the impact that what he might achieve hit him. He hasn't won in a long while, he's never won a major. It was just too much after such a long draught. Monty, I'm still routing for you, you're a hell of a golfer. I hope you keep at it.

Furyk played typical Furyk golf, BUT now he's gone too crazy with his lining up putts and backing off. He's getting as bad as Sergio used to be. Jim, go see someone besides your dad and get that thing taken care of. You have a terrific game for the Open, you can win more. You're probably still kicking yourself for missing that birdie putt on 16? by so much. It wasn't a bad swing, it's your crazy routine.

David Duval wasn't in contention at the end, but it was a thrill to see him really starting to get it together. Anyone notice that he tied for the lowest score, a 68. The game needs another steady contender at the top who can produce consistently thrilling rounds.

Where'd Ernie go? I've heard he's got a problem with the driver. I'm not sure about that as they never showed him on the tube, but he's got a problem with something. Will he ever get back to being the Ernie we know and love? I'd say he's got an uphill battle.

As well as Vijay played at Westchester, something has happened to his game since 2004. I'm tempted to say putting. He putted great at Westchester, but has been struggling for most of the season. I think he's starting to lose some accuracy in general. Is that age creeping in?

I wish I'd seen more Padraig. I know he went bogey, bogey, bogey, but I didn't see where he lost those holes. I almost thought he was going to come on towards the end. Did he just run out of steam or is there a club he still can't control down the stretch.

In general it was a beautiful Open. Winged Foot was setup very well even if Darren Clarke didn't like the greens. I didn't hear many pros complaining. I like the graduated rough - the further off course the greater the penalty. I think all the pros - except Monty - were playing for birdie. Monty had it right, play for par and avoid the doubles that so many had. Even though the Billy Casper strategy was brought up again and again by commentators on that one very testy par 3 there wasn't one pro who gave it a try. It seems the only strategy left is hit it as far as you can. Monty, please prove them wrong!